First Few Weeks in Oslo

After 6 weeks home in Texas, it was finally time to make our big move. I had spent weeks shopping for winter clothes and things we would need, which was kinda hard since not many places had winter stuff out. Occasionally I would get lucky and come across some super duper winter sales, but with none of us really having anything, we needed tons. 

Darrin came home for the weekend and I pretty much had everything together. 8 bags, 2 carry ons, 2 car seats a double stroller and we were ready! 

The flight from DFW to London wasn't THAT bad. I guess we had just prepared ourselves being in complete survival mode and to just remember soon it would all be over. The flight was delayed an hour while sitting on the runway, that may have been the worst part. We were already boarded and sitting down and after an hour into it, we had pulled out most toys and snacks for Grayson. We left at night so that we would all (hopefully) sleep for at least some of the 8 hours. Reagan did great. Played with her toys, ate and slept. Grayson did as expected, a little more work. Darrin was on Grayson duty (they sat in the 2 seats behind Reagan and I) so he might have a different story than I do. He slept, but not great like we had hoped for (even after the benedryl.) He would fall asleep and back up he was in 30 minutes, then back asleep, then up again. 

Once we arrived in London we were given an express pass so we could skip the lines since we had a connecting flight. We made it to the other side and we told there was no way we could make it, they were boarding already and wouldn't wait. I was frustrated. The whole reason we were going to miss our flight is because we were delayed in DFW waiting on a delayed flight so others could make it our our plane, and now we missed ours. 

This could have been the worst part. Both kids were tired of going through the lines and being in the stroller and we had to re-book our flight. We could have either waited for the next one, which was in 3 hours or something, or just stay the night in London and catch the morning flight out to Oslo. Darrin decided it would be better to just stay, stretch our legs, shower and let the kids run around, and he was right. I think it actually turned out for the better. We took naps, showers had a night dinner walked around a bit and then went to bed early. We tried going downtown to see some of London, but with the Olympics coming up, the city was crowded. We hopped on a subway, rode it for about 15 minutes, realized it was a bad idea, and headed back to the hotel. 

The next morning we had breakfast and left for Oslo. Besides being in the same clothes, we had only a 2 hour flight before it was all over. 

Our first family picture - Oslo, Norway. Home Sweet Home! 

The next couple days all run together. We adjusted to the 7 hour time difference, Darrin took off work the next day and mowed. We haven't ever had a yard, so mowing wasn't a chore yet, it was exciting. 

A few days later they delivered one of the kids toy bags that had gotten lost. It was like Christmas morning all over again, for a day, and then they were over it. 

That night we took the bus into the nearest town, Sanvidka to get some groceries and have dinner. The bus stop is right up our street and we thought the kids would think riding the bus was fun.

The grocery store was already closed, but we had dinner and let the kids play in the park. This was my first welcoming to Norway's expensive prices. 1 quesadilla appetizer, 2 chicken sandwiches, a beer and a water = 100 dollars. Ouch! Good thing it was delicious! 

The rest of the pictures are just some of the pictures I took over the past month. It was still summer here so all the neighborhood kids were home during the day. To say that I love our house and our neighborhood would be an understatement. I LOVE our house, it's perfect for us. It's the first house I have actually felt like was a home. We have a yard, friends for the first time it actually feels "normal."

9:00pm and wondering how I am going to get the kids adjusted to going to bed when it's not dark outside. 

Molina and Julia - Sisters that live across the street. (12 and 5 years old)

Weekend downtown walking the streets and playing in the park. 

Grayson outside on our deck playing in the rain.

Reagan being Reagan in her favorite outfit. 

Across the street they have a raspberry bush that I can not keep Grayson out of. 

Julia and Reagan coloring at our house.

She loves all the neighbor kids and took to them so quickly. (which is not usually my Reagan) After a few days she was playing over at their house and in the street without me. I loved just watching her play and listening to her conversations. 

I caught them jumping from the window onto the bed downstairs while I was doing the laundry. Silly Monkeys. 

Dixie, our next door neighbors dog. 

They have a saying in Norway, "there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes." I haven't seen how they are in snow, but if it's raining, it doesn't stop them one bit. There are just as many people out and about than if it was a beautiful sunny day. One of the girls wanted to go to the mall so I decided to give it a try. We took the bus and the kids and headed to the mall. Never again. Not for a while anyways, I am not Norwegian yet, and getting out in the rain, with 2 kids is still a pain!

We heard that on Friday's here they have tacos for dinner, so of course we had our first Taco Friday out on the deck. It was so fun, we all loved it!

My breakfast morning helpers.

Saturday grocery shopping. Which is my biggest stress here. Everywhere we have ever lived before has always had most of the American products, but here there is none. I have seen a few things I recognize, but other than that it is totally different. Which makes it so hard to shop. We did a lot of trial and error with the cheeses, meats or just different brands. I'm getting better about knowing what we like and don't like, but it is still frustrating. If I find a recipe 9 times out of 10, I can't find half of what I am looking for. Not to mention it is crazy, crazy expensive. I told Darrin the other night that I felt like a college kid again trying to think of things to cook. Usually cooking dinners and sharing recipes is so fun, especially with Pinterest, but lately I have struggled to find things to make. It's getting a little better, but grocery shopping is the worst! 

Sweet boy crying for more Oreos. 

Behind our house playing in the creek. 

21 weeks

Reagan, Suri and Julia

I think I will stop there for this post, this was about the first 2-3 weeks here. I will continue the next couple weeks pictures in the next post. What I realized is I haven't used my camera in over a month, not even once. Terrible. Now that I have an iphone here I only use my phone for taking pictures. Which is much easier and great for sending pictures on my phone or for instagram, but not really great quality. I want to continue making yearly books, and pictures with my phone only isn't going to cut it.

We had a great first few weeks here in Olso. Nothing too exciting, just getting to know the neighbors and hanging out!